HP Gives Upbeat Guidance, Doesn't Plan Breakup (HPQ)

Hewlett-Packard's (NYSE:HPQ) CEO Mark Hurd has been cleaning house since arriving in March of this year. 15,000 jobs and an entire sales unit were slashed in that time, and so far the Street likes what it's seeing -- HPQ stock is up about 40% in the past nine months.

In a meeting with analysts today, H-P said it expects revenues to grow 4% to 6% in fiscal 2007, which begins next November. The company sees F06 revenues at $89.5 billion to $91 billion. The Wall St. Journal(sub. req.) gave some details on longstanding talk of H-P breaking up:

At the analyst meeting, Mr. Hurd didn't disclose any big strategic changes to H-P, such as potentially selling a business unit, something that both Mr. Hurd and his predecessor Carly Fiorina have steadfastly resisted. In the past, some investors have called for a breakup of the company as a way to unlock H-P's hidden value. Last year, Ms. Fiorina said H-P's board had thrice considered a breakup of the company but had unanimously rejected the idea each time. Mr. Hurd has said that there's nothing wrong with H-P's strategy and that he simply wants the company to execute better.